Caring for One AnotherThe Buddha taking care of a sick monk

Caring for One Another

Discussion date: Thu, Nov 29, 2018 at our weekly Thursday evening practice

Dear Still Water Friends,

In the Still Water Mission Statement we identify Mindfulness, Compassion, and Community as our Core Values. We define community as “To live and grow being supported by and supporting others.” Recently, the Still Water Working Group asked whether there is more we can do to support one another, especially during times of grief or illness. This Thursday evening, after our meditation period, Carlos Munoz and I will facilitate a Dharma sharing on this question. We hope to identify areas in which practitioners would like support, and also, ways in which practitioners would like to support others.

In the early Buddhist scriptures there is a story about the Buddha and Ananda finding a monk suffering from dysentery living alone in filth, with no one looking after him. The Buddha and Ananda tended to his needs, and later gathered the community. The Buddha remonstrated them for not caring for the sick monk, and said:

Monks, you have no mother, you have no father, who might tend to you. If you don’t tend to one another, who then will tend to you? Whoever would tend to me, should tend to the sick.

During the time of the Buddha almost everyone lived in large extended families. To leave home as a monastic meant to no longer receive the emotional and practical support the large families offered. Today, 2600 years later, in urban areas like the D.C. area, very few of us live in the same building, or even the same state, as our extended family members. Although we are not monastic, the question often arises: Who will offer emotional and practical support?

The sutra quote above is from Thanissaro Bhikku’s translation, available at https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/vin/mv/mv.08.26.01-08.than.html,

A retelling of the story by Thich Nhat Hanh from Old Path White Cloud is below.

You are invited to join us on Thursday evening. And if this subject is important to you, please send your reflections and comments to info@StillWaterMPC.org.

Many blessings,

Mitchell Ratner


The Monk with Dysentery
By Thich Nhat Hanh from Old Path White Cloud

One day the Buddha and Ananda visited a small monastery located just outside the city. They arrived when most of the bhikkhus were out begging. As they strolled around the monastery grounds, they suddenly heard a pitiful groan coming from one of the huts. The Buddha entered the hut and found an emaciated bhikkhu curled up in one corner. A terrible stench filled the air. The Buddha knelt beside him and asked, “Brother, are you ill?”

The bhikkhu answered, “Lord, I have dysentery.”

“Isn’t anyone looking after you?”

“Lord, the other brothers have gone out begging. There is no one here but me. When I first fell ill, several of the brothers did try to care for me, but when I saw I was of no use to anyone, I told them not to bother with me anymore.”

The Buddha told Ananda, “Go fetch some water. We will bathe our brother.”

Ananda brought a bucket of water and helped the Buddha bathe the sick bhikkhu. They changed his robe and lifted him back onto his bed. The Buddha and Ananda then scrubbed the floor and washed the bhikkhu’s soiled robes. They were hanging the robes out to dry when the other bhikkhus returned. Venerable Ananda asked them to boil some water and prepare medicine for their brother.

The community invited the Buddha and Ananda to eat with them. After the meal, the Buddha asked them, “From what illness is the bhikkhu in that hut suffering?”

“Lord Buddha, he has dysentery.” “Has anyone been caring for him?” “Lord Buddha, at first we tried to look after him but then he asked us not to.”

“Bhikkhus, when we leave our homes to follow the Way, we leave parents and family behind. If we don’t look after each other when we are sick, who will? We must care for one another. Whether the ill person is a teacher, a student, or a friend, we must tend to him until he has regained his health. Bhikkhus, if I were sick, would you tend to my needs?”

“Yes, certainly, Lord Buddha.”

“Then you must tend to the needs of any bhikkhu who falls ill. Caring for any bhikkhu is the same as caring for the Buddha.”

The bhikkhus joined their palms and bowed.

in: Dharma Topics
Discussion Date: Thu, Nov 29, 2018


Share:

December 2022
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Sun, November 27 Mon, November 28

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Friends in Different Places

Tue, November 29

Takoma Park Morning Meditation

Wed, November 30

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Spanish-Speaking Online Practice

Still Water Kent Island

Thu, December 1

Takoma Park Morning Meditation

Fri, December 2

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Sat, December 3

Mindful Artmaking

Sun, December 4 Mon, December 5

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Friends in Different Places

Tue, December 6

Takoma Park Morning Meditation

Tuesday Evening Gaithersburg Group

Wed, December 7

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Spanish-Speaking Online Practice

Still Water Kent Island

Thu, December 8

Takoma Park Morning Meditation

Fri, December 9

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Sat, December 10
Sun, December 11 Mon, December 12

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Friends in Different Places

Tue, December 13

Takoma Park Morning Meditation

Tuesday Evening Gaithersburg Group

Wed, December 14

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Spanish-Speaking Online Practice

Still Water Kent Island

Thu, December 15

Takoma Park Morning Meditation

Fri, December 16

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Sat, December 17
Sun, December 18 Mon, December 19

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Friends in Different Places

Tue, December 20

Takoma Park Morning Meditation

Tuesday Evening Gaithersburg Group

Wed, December 21

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Spanish-Speaking Online Practice

Still Water Kent Island

Thu, December 22

Takoma Park Morning Meditation

Fri, December 23

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Sat, December 24
Sun, December 25 Mon, December 26

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Friends in Different Places

Tue, December 27

Takoma Park Morning Meditation

Tuesday Evening Gaithersburg Group

Wed, December 28

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Spanish-Speaking Online Practice

Still Water Kent Island

Thu, December 29

Takoma Park Morning Meditation

Fri, December 30

Silver Spring Morning Meditation

Sat, December 31